Akwaaba

Which means "Welcome" in Twi, the largest tribal language spoken in Ghana. I'll be taking a class this semester, so more fun foreign words to come. Here's your quick update: I checked out of the hotel yesterday and was told that it would take an hour and a half to get to the airport. In reality, it took twenty minutes so with the extra time I went over to the "Wok Inn" Chinese resteraunt where I met three other Californians. We hung out and after a while a woman came up to us and said "Akwaaba". Her name is Anjali and she's on a year-long program here and came to welcome everyone at the airport because she said when she arrived it was really tough, she was confused, and almost got conned into an unnecessary taxi. We got bottles of water and a ride to campus, and the rest of the group followed behind. We got rooms in Volta Hall (the female dorm where we're staying for orientation for "women of vision and style" according to the sign). We met our guides and they showed us to our rooms and gave us cool welcome tote bags. We had a big group dinner (jollof rice, chicken, lettuce and a red sauce that's very popular here), and went up to bed. There are a grand total of three boys, so we're all in the same room with one key. Everybody had a rocky night sleep interrupted by the Campinile-style clock, a buzz of mosquitoes (yikes!), the heat, and the "jungle noises" outside. Half of us woke up early for breakfast at 7am (thick porridge with condensced milk, cold fried eggs and wonderbread rolls- I admit it, I'm a food snob). We then ventured out to the bank and Anjali showed us around campus- we bought some water and then walked to the EAP study center with free internet. It's pretty slow, but I'll still do my best to keep y'all in the loop. I miss you a lot, but everyone seems well adjusted here. We have a free morning and then the two week orientation continues. We're working on getting tickets to the Ghana vs. Nigeria football (soccer) game on Sunday as part of the African Cup of Nations, so there's a huge amount of national pride and the flag is everywhere. We're also making a trip to Kumasi, and several other surprises which I know and you will have to tune back in to find out. Still working on pictures. With love.